5 Things We Loved About The Balenciaga Spring Summer 2026 Collection

There are fashion houses that evolve, and there are those that shapeshift entirely. Few have undergone as many transformations as Balenciaga. Each creative director has left an unmistakable imprint— founder Cristobal Balenciaga with his mastery of craft and radical silhouettes; Nicolas Ghesquiere with futurism; and Demna with meme-ified streetwear that turned the house into a cultural monolith and billion-dollar machine.

Now, a new chapter begins under Pierpaolo Piccioli, the beloved former Valentino couturier known for romantic maximalism. His mission is not to erase what came before, but—as he puts it—“not homage, but recalibration.”

This debut was titled The Heartbeat, and that’s exactly what it felt like: a return to fashion fuelled by emotion, not virality. Gone are the logo hoodies and dystopian irony. In their place: silhouettes that glide, colours that pulse, and a renewed belief in the transformative power of couture.

CRISTOBAL BALENCIAGA, BUT MAKE IT 2025

Piccioli opened his debut by going straight to the heart of the maison: Cristobal Balenciaga’s obsession with structure, volume and purity of line. But instead of rehashing the archives, he reactivated them. The show began with a reinterpretation of the 1957 sack dress—elongated into a floor-sweeping silhouette and paired with opera gloves. Later, a magenta gown nodded to the legendary 1958 “peacock” dress, its train a whisper of drama rather than a theatrical gesture.

But the real breakthrough wasn’t a dress—it was a new fabric known as neo gazar. Created specifically for this collection, neo gazar is Pierpaolo Piccioli’s modern evolution of Balenciaga’s original gazar (an example pictured below from the brand’s archives); the textile that defined Balenciaga’s architectural couture in the 1950s. The original was known for its ability to hold form through cut alone, without corsetry or crinoline. Piccioli’s version keeps that structural DNA, but rewires it for today.

Neo gazar is crafted from a double-weave construction—one layer gauze-like and textured, the other a soft organza enriched with an extra lamiset weft (a silk-wool blend Piccioli introduced himself). The result? It maintains the volume and sculpture Balenciaga is known for, but with new fluidity and movement.

Pictured here: A gown made with the new neo gazar fabric.

DEMNA FANS, YOU’RE STILL INVITED

Piccioli didn’t reject Balenciaga’s streetwear era—he absorbed it. The crop tops, denim Bermudas, and bug-eye sunglasses served as micro-shocks within the otherwise ethereal narrative. Le Monde described it as “a reconciliation between body and culture.” Demna built Balenciaga into a global phenomenon. Piccioli is now giving its chaos a soul.

GHESQUIERE HIVE, RISE

For the fashion crowd who still have Nicolas Ghesquiere-era Balenciaga on their Pinterest boards, Piccioli said: I see you. One look in particular – a fuzzy, hand-knit dress featuring a garden-like floral motif – felt like an evolution of a print first seen during Ghesquiere’s Spring 2008 Balenciaga era. Another subtle callback: the high-crowned riding hat. First introduced during Ghesquiere’s tenure, the riding cap became a signature symbol of his futuristic equestrian aesthetic — part aristocratic, part sci-fi heroine. It gestured toward the future, not nostalgia. The iconic City bag—once the arm candy of Kate Moss in the early 2000s and first introduced during Ghesquiere’s time—was also reimagined, a signal that Piccioli understands the power of reactivating cult items.

ROMANTICISM IS BACK IN THE HOUSE

The new collection truly comes alive with Piccioli’s signatures - he brought his signature saturated colour palette and masterful sculptural sensibility to the house of Balenciaga. Instead of spectacle, there was serenity. Instead of memes, meaning. Volumes curved around the body like protective energy fields. It seems like irony is out - a softer, uplifting romanticism has been ushered in.

NEW BAGS AND SHOES ALERT

Leather goods followed the elegant-but-modern theme. East-west bags are offered in both a slouchy and structured form, and bowling handbags are subtly embellished with the signature BB logo. On the feet, velvet platform sandals add a grounding touch and sleek pointy heels are either polished or adorned with flower leather decorations, something the new and old era fans can both love.